Portland, November 5th, 2014. More than 500 people attended Central City Concern’s seventh annual luncheon at the Portland Art Museum. CCC Founding Board member Sally McCracken posed for a photo with Portland City Mayor, Charlie Hales. The event raised more than $350,000 for Central City Concern’s employment, health and housing programs.
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury with Dr. Aleka Heinrici, a CCC alumna and featured speaker, with Ed Blackburn, CCC Executive Director
Herman Bryant, Executive Director of The Miracles Club, and Carol Graven, CCC Family Mentor. CCC and The Miracles Club are soon embarking upon a capital project in NE Portland.
CCC featured client Richard Reyes with daughter Thommie. A video detailing Rick’s journey was shared at the luncheon.
Freda Ceaser, Program Manager of CCC’s Employment Access Center, opened the luncheon with a stirring rendition of “One Voice.”
From CCC: Major corporate supporters were CareOregon and Wells Fargo. Featured speaker was Dr. Aleka Heinrici, a graduate of CCC’s programs; County Chair Deborah Kafoury introduced Dr. Heinrici and discussed the County’s history in supporting the Recovery Mentor Program. City Commissioner Dan Saltzman discussed the City’s support of two major capital projects for CCC in the coming two years. Portland Mayor Charlie Hales introduced CCC’s Executive Director Ed Blackburn who shared three stories about people reaching a higher potential thanks to the work of CCC staff.
Portland, October 6th. It felt a bit like Oscar night in Portland as Incight pulled out all the stops for a the star studded “Hooray for Hollywood” gala. At Pure Space in the Pearl District, long-time Incight supporters Charlie and Shawn Engelberg were dead ringers for Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The fundraiser supports the organization’s mission of empowering people with disabilities to become contributing members of society. More than 330 people attended the 6th annual benefit during which Incight raise more than $180,000, a 20% increase over last year.
Dan Heine, CEO of The Bank of Oswego, along with his wife Roberta are red-carpet ready.
At the center of it all, Vail Horton CEO of Keen Healthcare and Co-Founder of Incight visits with Charlie Hales and his wife, Nancy.
Keynote Speaker, John Register sharing his passionate message about “Hurdling Adversity”.
Dazzling guests with a show-stopping performance at the end of the evening was renowned Cher impersonator, Heidi Thompson, seen here with Incight Executive Director Dan Friess dressed as Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind.
The words of Yoda, “Do or do not, there is no try” served as the auction theme. Costumes included: Cher, Olivia Newton John, John Travolta, Doc Holiday, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Clark Gable, and Christopher Reeve to name just a few. Sony Bono even made a cameo to cap a milestone evening for Incight.
Sponsored by Safeway and The Standard, the evening celebrated and shared Incight’s year of growth and program expansion successes with their sponsors and donors who make it all possible. All proceeds will support Incight’s education, employment, networking, and independence programs for people with disabilities. Incight believes that everyone can move beyond their boundaries.
Incight also welcomed John Register, a Desert Storm Veteran and Paralympic Athlete, to be the event’s keynote speaker and share his inspiring story of Hurdling Adversity. Incight Executive Director Dan Friess as Master of Ceremonies and Johnna Wells as Auctioneer maintained the energetic atmosphere for an incredible evening not soon to be forgotten.
“We were very humbled by the tremendous outpouring of generosity from those who attended the 2012 Hooray for Hollywood Gala,” said Incight Executive Director Dan Friess. “This event allows us to further address the critical need around improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.”
The Kresge Foundation matched donations up to $25,000 at the event. Kresge has been supporting Incight since 2010 with a grant to increase post-secondary education rates for people with disabilities.
About Incight: Incight was founded in 2004 by Vail Horton, CEO of Portland-based KEEN Healthcare Company, along with Scott Hatley, with the dream of changing two statistics: increase the 16% education attainment of Americans with disabilities and decrease the 76% unemployment rate. They collaborated on the creation of a program that would, ultimately, affect these statistics.
Incight’s mission is to cause the success of education, employment, networking, and independence for people with disabilities. Through all this, Incight’s main goal is achieved; empower people with disabilities to become contributing members of society. Since its inception, Incight has awarded 619 college scholarships, developed 25 scholarship match partnerships at area universities, created 132 jobs and internships, hosted 500 job seekers at employment events, distributed 6,000 college resource guidebooks, served 2,900 plus through Incight Events/trainings and in 2011 received the Spirit of Portland Award. For more information about Incight, visit www.incight .org.
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